A heavy fighter is a historic category of fighter aircraft produced in the 1930s and 1940s, designed to carry heavier weapons or operate at longer ranges than light fighter aircraft. To achieve performance, most heavy fighters were twin-engine, and many had multi-place crews; this was in contrast to light fighters, which were typically single-engine and single-crew aircraft. In Germany, these larger fighters were known as Zerstörer ("destroyers").
139-519: The heavy fighter was a major design class during the pre- World War II period, conceived as long-range escort fighters or heavily-armed bomber destroyers . Most such designs failed in this mission, as they could not maneuver quickly enough against single-engine fighters. Most notable among such designs was the Messerschmitt Bf 110 , which suffered great losses during the Battle of Britain . An exception
278-637: A Neutrality Pact in April 1941, and Japan adopted the doctrine of Nanshin-ron , promoted by the Navy, which took its focus southward and eventually led to war with the United States and the Western Allies. In Europe, Germany and Italy were becoming more aggressive. In March 1938, Germany annexed Austria , again provoking little response from other European powers. Encouraged, Hitler began pressing German claims on
417-573: A Yak-11 kill. The Twin Mustang was increasingly out-classed by jet aircraft, and was eventually replaced in Korea by Republic F-84 Thunderjets and North American F-86 Sabres . The F-82 would end its life as the last operational American piston-engined interceptor. Primarily stationed in Alaska out of Adak Island (and later out of Ladd Air Force Base ) as part of the 449th Fighter (All-Weather) Squadron (F(AW)S),
556-496: A bomber destroyer , and was comparable to early models of the German Messerschmitt Bf 110. The G.I was formidably armed relative even to other early heavy fighters; with twin 23 mm (.91 in) Madsen cannons, and a pair of 7.9 mm (.31 in) Madsen machine guns (later up-armed to eight machine guns) in the nose. For defensive purposes, a single Madsen 7.9 mm machine gun was mounted in a rear-facing turret, manned by
695-516: A cautious French probe into the Saarland . The Western Allies also began a naval blockade of Germany , which aimed to damage the country's economy and war effort. Germany responded by ordering U-boat warfare against Allied merchant and warships, which would later escalate into the Battle of the Atlantic . On 8 September, German troops reached the suburbs of Warsaw . The Polish counter-offensive to
834-528: A German mechanized column near Tongeren . Six to eight were shot down by German flak, two more 693s were lost while attempting to return to base, and of those that made it home safely, one was written off (most of the twenty four crewmen survived or were captured alive, although three died during the attack and some of the survivors were badly wounded). As the fighting drew to a close the French attempted to fly as many 693s as possible to North Africa, but only three made
973-662: A cannon-armed fighter (the Westland Whirlwind). The Beaufighter design reused major portions of the earlier Beaufort torpedo bomber . Armed with six .303 inch (7.7 mm) machine guns, four 20 mm cannon and rockets, bombs or torpedoes, the Beaufighter was potent in the anti-ship and ground attack role in the Pacific and Europe. With the addition of radar , it was one of the Royal Air Force 's main night fighters. Similarly,
1112-678: A costly mistake. In practice the Bf 110 was capable of using this combination of features for only a short time, until the late summer of 1940. It served well against the Hawker Hurricane during the Battle of France , but was easily outperformed by – and up to 50 km/h (31 mph) slower in top speed than – the Supermarine Spitfire during the Battle of Britain. Eventually Bf 110s were converted to interceptors , and were particularly successful in
1251-417: A fast light bomber. Although not always contemporaneously referred to explicitly as “heavy fighters,” nearly every single combatant of WWII fielded or experimented with twin-engine multi-role combat aircraft . The Fokker G.I was a private venture design by Dutch aircraft manufacturer Fokker in 1936. The G.I was designed to serve on the heavier end of the spectrum of heavy fighters, as a jachtkruiser or
1390-565: A larger number of air-to-air missiles than their smaller brethren. They typically also have more capable and complex radar and electronic systems, with the result that in older air-superiority fighters such as the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom II or Grumman F-14 Tomcat , a second dedicated crew member was carried to manage radar and weapon-systems. World War II Asia-Pacific Mediterranean and Middle East Other campaigns Coups World War II or
1529-672: A long-ranged fighter. Prior to the war, it was considered by the German Luftwaffe more important than their single-engine fighters. Many of the best pilots were assigned to Bf 110 wings , specifically designated as Zerstörergeschwader ("destroyer squadron", Zerstörer being the same word as used for naval destroyers ) wings. While lighter fighters were intended for defense, the destroyers were intended for offensive missions: to escort bombers on missions at long range, then use its superior speed to outrun defending fighters that would be capable of outmaneuvering it. This doctrine proved to be
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#17328633227021668-514: A pretext to initiate the invasion. The first German attack of the war came against the Polish defences at Westerplatte . The United Kingdom responded with an ultimatum for Germany to cease military operations, and on 3 September, after the ultimatum was ignored, Britain and France declared war on Germany. During the Phoney War period, the alliance provided no direct military support to Poland, outside of
1807-765: A pretext to worsen relations. On 29 August, Hitler demanded that a Polish plenipotentiary immediately travel to Berlin to negotiate the handover of Danzig , and to allow a plebiscite in the Polish Corridor in which the German minority would vote on secession. The Poles refused to comply with the German demands, and on the night of 30–31 August in a confrontational meeting with the British ambassador Nevile Henderson , Ribbentrop declared that Germany considered its claims rejected. On 1 September 1939, Germany invaded Poland after having staged several false flag border incidents as
1946-508: A rearward-facing machine gun for defensive purposes. This was relatively very heavy armament for a fighter in 1934, with most contemporary aircraft mounting one or two light machine guns. In response, French aircraft manufacturer Potez developed the Potez 63 series . The basic design was close to the original specification; that of either a 2 or 3 seat, dual-engine heavy fighter, armed with two 20 mm Hispano-Suiza HS.404 cannons in gondolas under
2085-481: A relatively successful night fighter, ground attacker , and fighter-bomber for most of the war; and the Bristol Beaufighter , which emerged as a major anti-shipping strike fighter of the Royal Air Force . Some heavy fighters did find success; the de Havilland Mosquito , simultaneously developed as a light bomber , twin-engine fighter and photo-reconnaissance aircraft, excelled in its originally proposed role as
2224-469: A secret protocol that defined German and Soviet "spheres of influence" (western Poland and Lithuania for Germany; eastern Poland , Finland, Estonia , Latvia and Bessarabia for the Soviet Union), and raised the question of continuing Polish independence. The pact neutralised the possibility of Soviet opposition to a campaign against Poland and assured that Germany would not have to face the prospect of
2363-743: A similar pact and rejected ceding part of its territory to the Soviet Union. The Soviet Union invaded Finland in November 1939, and was subsequently expelled from the League of Nations for this crime of aggression. Despite overwhelming numerical superiority, Soviet military success during the Winter War was modest, and the Finno-Soviet war ended in March 1940 with some Finnish concessions of territory . In June 1940,
2502-548: A single mockup. Another bomber destroyer was the Beechcraft Model 28, also bearing a 75 mm cannon, with twin turrets mounting .50 in (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 heavy machine guns for defence. The design was re-designated the XA-38 Grizzly and was repurposed as a ground attack aircraft intended to be able to defeat enemy tanks and ground fortifications with its heavy cannon. However, for reasons including need of
2641-628: A torpedo. Although Grumman designed and developed the aircraft during World War II, it entered service too late to see action before VJ Day . It served in the Korean War and retired in 1954. During the interwar period the USSR set about developing heavily armed twin-engine fighters to function in the heavy-fighter role, particularly as interceptors and bomber destroyers. Uniquely, the Soviets experimented with recoilless rifles as primary armament, but abandoned
2780-519: A two-front war, as it had in World War I. Immediately afterwards, Hitler ordered the attack to proceed on 26 August, but upon hearing that the United Kingdom had concluded a formal mutual assistance pact with Poland and that Italy would maintain neutrality, he decided to delay it. In response to British requests for direct negotiations to avoid war, Germany made demands on Poland, which served as
2919-532: A winterized variant, known as the F-82H was developed specifically for this task. The winterized Twin Mustang would perform long-range aerial patrols over the extremes of American airspace around Alaska, with the area being viewed as a possible ‘back door’ for Soviet strategic bombers. The F-82H was slowly supplemented by the Lockheed F-94 Starfire all-weather interceptor , and by 1953, it had completely replaced
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#17328633227023058-588: The Anglo-German Naval Agreement and the German–Polish declaration of non-aggression . The situation became a crisis in late August as German troops continued to mobilise against the Polish border. On 23 August the Soviet Union signed a non-aggression pact with Germany, after tripartite negotiations for a military alliance between France, the United Kingdom, and Soviet Union had stalled. This pact had
3197-662: The British Empire , with fighting in the Balkans , Mediterranean, and Middle East , the aerial Battle of Britain and the Blitz , and naval Battle of the Atlantic . Through a series of campaigns and treaties, Germany took control of much of continental Europe and formed the Axis alliance with Italy , Japan , and other countries. In June 1941, Germany led the European Axis in an invasion of
3336-566: The German Revolution of 1918–1919 , and a democratic government, later known as the Weimar Republic , was created. The interwar period saw strife between supporters of the new republic and hardline opponents on both the political right and left. Italy, as an Entente ally, had made some post-war territorial gains; however, Italian nationalists were angered that the promises made by the United Kingdom and France to secure Italian entrance into
3475-814: The German invasion of Poland and the United Kingdom and France 's declaration of war on Germany two days later on 3 September 1939. Dates for the beginning of the Pacific War include the start of the Second Sino-Japanese War on 7 July 1937, or the earlier Japanese invasion of Manchuria , on 19 September 1931. Others follow the British historian A. J. P. Taylor , who stated that the Sino-Japanese War and war in Europe and its colonies occurred simultaneously, and
3614-567: The Italian mainland , and Allied offensives in the Pacific—cost the Axis powers their initiative and forced them into strategic retreat on all fronts. In 1944, the Western Allies invaded German-occupied France at Normandy , while the Soviet Union regained its territorial losses and pushed Germany and its allies westward. At the same time, Japan suffered reversals in mainland Asia, while the Allies crippled
3753-537: The Japanese Navy and captured key islands . The war in Europe concluded with the liberation of German-occupied territories ; the invasion of Germany by the Western Allies and the Soviet Union, culminating in the fall of Berlin to Soviet troops; Hitler's suicide ; and the German unconditional surrender on 8 May 1945 . Following the refusal of Japan to surrender on the terms of the Potsdam Declaration ,
3892-682: The League of Nations as a force to preserve peace. Both Italy and Ethiopia were member nations, but the League did little when the former clearly violated Article X of the League's Covenant . The United Kingdom and France supported imposing sanctions on Italy for the invasion, but the sanctions were not fully enforced and failed to end the Italian invasion. Italy subsequently dropped its objections to Germany's goal of absorbing Austria . When civil war broke out in Spain, Hitler and Mussolini lent military support to
4031-560: The Luftwaffe on Dutch airfields, and overwhelming German air superiority, the G.I suffered heavy losses. At the conclusion of hostilities , several G.Is were captured by the Germans, and utilized as heavy-fighter trainers for Bf 110 crews at Wiener Neustadt . For the next two years, Flugzeugführerschule (B) 8 flew the G.I until attrition grounded the fleet. On 5 May 1941, a Fokker test pilot, Hidde Leegstra, accompanied by engineer (and member of
4170-693: The Nationalist rebels , led by General Francisco Franco . Italy supported the Nationalists to a greater extent than the Nazis: Mussolini sent more than 70,000 ground troops, 6,000 aviation personnel, and 720 aircraft to Spain. The Soviet Union supported the existing government of the Spanish Republic . More than 30,000 foreign volunteers, known as the International Brigades , also fought against
4309-677: The Rome–Berlin Axis . A month later, Germany and Japan signed the Anti-Comintern Pact , which Italy joined the following year. The Kuomintang (KMT) party in China launched a unification campaign against regional warlords and nominally unified China in the mid-1920s, but was soon embroiled in a civil war against its former Chinese Communist Party (CCP) allies and new regional warlords . In 1931, an increasingly militaristic Empire of Japan , which had long sought influence in China as
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4448-603: The Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers . Nearly all the world's countries —including all the great powers —participated, with many investing all available economic, industrial, and scientific capabilities in pursuit of total war , blurring the distinction between military and civilian resources. Tanks and aircraft played major roles , with
4587-531: The Soviet–Japanese Neutrality Pact in April 1941. By contrast, the Germans were steadily making preparations for an attack on the Soviet Union, massing forces on the Soviet border. Hitler believed that the United Kingdom's refusal to end the war was based on the hope that the United States and the Soviet Union would enter the war against Germany sooner or later. On 31 July 1940, Hitler decided that
4726-580: The Stresa Front in April 1935 in order to contain Germany, a key step towards military globalisation ; however, that June, the United Kingdom made an independent naval agreement with Germany, easing prior restrictions. The Soviet Union, concerned by Germany's goals of capturing vast areas of Eastern Europe , drafted a treaty of mutual assistance with France. Before taking effect, though, the Franco-Soviet pact
4865-689: The Sudetenland , an area of Czechoslovakia with a predominantly ethnic German population. Soon the United Kingdom and France followed the appeasement policy of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain and conceded this territory to Germany in the Munich Agreement , which was made against the wishes of the Czechoslovak government, in exchange for a promise of no further territorial demands. Soon afterwards, Germany and Italy forced Czechoslovakia to cede additional territory to Hungary, and Poland annexed
5004-682: The Tanggu Truce was signed in 1933. Thereafter, Chinese volunteer forces continued the resistance to Japanese aggression in Manchuria , and Chahar and Suiyuan . After the 1936 Xi'an Incident , the Kuomintang and CCP forces agreed on a ceasefire to present a united front to oppose Japan. The Second Italo-Ethiopian War was a brief colonial war that began in October 1935 and ended in May 1936. The war began with
5143-568: The Trans-Olza region of Czechoslovakia. Although all of Germany's stated demands had been satisfied by the agreement, privately Hitler was furious that British interference had prevented him from seizing all of Czechoslovakia in one operation. In subsequent speeches Hitler attacked British and Jewish "war-mongers" and in January 1939 secretly ordered a major build-up of the German navy to challenge British naval supremacy. In March 1939, Germany invaded
5282-554: The Treaty of Craiova . The loss of one-third of Romania's 1939 territory caused a coup against King Carol II, turning Romania into a fascist dictatorship under Marshal Ion Antonescu , with a course set towards the Axis in the hopes of a German guarantee. Meanwhile, German-Soviet political relations and economic co-operation gradually stalled, and both states began preparations for war. In April 1940, Germany invaded Denmark and Norway to protect shipments of iron ore from Sweden , which
5421-673: The United Kingdom and France to declare war on Germany. Poland was divided between Germany and the Soviet Union under the Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact , in which they had agreed on " spheres of influence " in Eastern Europe. In 1940, the Soviets annexed the Baltic states and parts of Finland and Romania . After the fall of France in June 1940, the war continued mainly between Germany and
5560-426: The Wehrmacht rapidly advanced to the Channel and cut off the Allied forces in Belgium, trapping the bulk of the Allied armies in a cauldron on the Franco-Belgian border near Lille. The United Kingdom was able to evacuate a significant number of Allied troops from the continent by early June, although they had to abandon almost all their equipment. On 10 June, Italy invaded France , declaring war on both France and
5699-451: The aftermath of World War I and the rise of fascism in Europe and militarism in Japan . Key events leading up to the war included Japan's invasion of Manchuria , the Spanish Civil War , the outbreak of the Second Sino-Japanese War , and Germany's annexations of Austria and the Sudetenland . World War II is generally considered to have begun on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany , under Adolf Hitler , invaded Poland , prompting
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5838-404: The reunification of East and West Germany to take place and resolved most post–World War II issues. No formal peace treaty between Japan and the Soviet Union was ever signed, although the state of war between the two countries was terminated by the Soviet–Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956 , which also restored full diplomatic relations between them. World War I had radically altered
5977-425: The "Five-day War", the available G.I fighters were mainly deployed in ground attack missions, strafing advancing German infantry units, but were also used to attack Junkers Ju 52 transports . Although reports are fragmentary and inaccurate as to the results, G.I fighters were employed over Rotterdam and the Hague, contributing to the loss of 167 Ju 52s, scoring up to 14 confirmed aerial kills. With relentless attacks by
6116-649: The 1930s through to the immediate post-WWII period there were a slew of American designs that were twin-engined, relatively heavy in weight, and designed in line with other nations’ heavy fighter philosophy. During the late 1930s, Bell Aircraft of the United States designed the YFM-1 Airacuda "bomber destroyer". The design was heavily armed, particularly for a pre-WWII design, mounting two 37 mm (1.46 in) M4 cannons as her primary armament along with two .30 in (7.62 mm) M1919 Browning machine guns and two .50 in (12.7 mm) M2 Browning heavy machine guns for defense. A very large and unique airframe,
6255-418: The Airacuda was plagued with design flaws; only 13 prototypes were built, none of which participated in World War II. The US would enter WWII with one of the most effective heavy fighters in history, the Lockheed P-38 Lightning . It was designed as a twin-engine bomber interceptor to climb quickly and carry heavy armament at high speed, with the lighter Bell P-39 Airacobra meeting the single-engine version of
6394-409: The Allies were attempting to cut off . Denmark capitulated after six hours , and despite Allied support , Norway was conquered within two months. British discontent over the Norwegian campaign led to the resignation of Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain , who was replaced by Winston Churchill on 10 May 1940. On the same day, Germany launched an offensive against France . To circumvent
6533-400: The Axis war against the Soviet Union, in Romania's case partially to recapture territory ceded to the Soviet Union . In early June 1940, the Italian Regia Aeronautica attacked and besieged Malta , a British possession. From late summer to early autumn, Italy conquered British Somaliland and made an incursion into British-held Egypt . In October, Italy attacked Greece , but the attack
6672-519: The Bf 110, but also could not outrun contemporary single-engine fighters, with the Me 210 having serious aerodynamic problems from mistakes in the design of its wing planform and the initial design of its rear fuselage. Aside from the Bf 110 and Me 210/410, the Luftwaffe also utilized various light bombers , medium bombers , and Schnellbombers (German; literally "fast bomber") in the heavy fighter role. Due to their relatively large size, these were mostly used as night fighter-bomber destroyers, as there
6811-421: The Blitz , but largely ended in May 1941 after failing to significantly disrupt the British war effort. Using newly captured French ports, the German Navy enjoyed success against an over-extended Royal Navy , using U-boats against British shipping in the Atlantic . The British Home Fleet scored a significant victory on 27 May 1941 by sinking the German battleship Bismarck . In November 1939,
6950-405: The European Axis declaring war on the US. Japan conquered much of coastal China and Southeast Asia , but its advances in the Pacific were halted in mid-1942 after its defeat in the naval Battle of Midway ; Germany and Italy were defeated in North Africa and at Stalingrad in the Soviet Union. Key setbacks in 1943—including German defeats on the Eastern Front, the Allied invasions of Sicily and
7089-456: The F-4 and F-5 variants of which over 1,200 were built), night fighter (as the radar -equipped P-38M variant), and as a fighter-bomber . In the escort fighter role, the P-38 accompanied Boeing B-17 Flying Fortress raids deep into German-held Europe. The P-38 and the much lighter North American P-51 Mustang were the first two American fighters over Berlin in March 1944. The only other American heavy fighter to serve in great numbers during WWII
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#17328633227027228-407: The Fokker Board of Directors) Dr. Piet Vos, managed to fly a G.I to England from the occupied Netherlands . After landing in England, the G.I was conscripted by Phillips and Powis Aircraft . The company had designed an all-wooden fighter-bomber, and was interested in the G.I wing structure and its resistance to the rigours of a British climate. Despite being left outdoors for the remainder of the war,
7367-423: The French government, or via use of captured aircraft. In French service the series saw action during the Battle of France , and post- armistice within both the Vichy French Armée de l'air de l'Armistice , and the Free French Forces Aériennes Françaises Libres . On 20 May 1940, the light bomber variant, the Potez 633, took part in a ground attack against German troops near Arras . Three 633s took part in
7506-410: The French possessions of Syria and Lebanon , assisted by the Free French . With the situation in Europe and Asia relatively stable, Germany, Japan, and the Soviet Union made preparations for war. With the Soviets wary of mounting tensions with Germany, and the Japanese planning to take advantage of the European War by seizing resource-rich European possessions in Southeast Asia , the two powers signed
7645-594: The G.I survived only to be eventually scrapped after 1945. There are no surviving G.Is today, although a replica has been built, and is now displayed at the Dutch Nationaal Militair Museum (National Military Museum). In 1934, the French Ministry of Air issued a specification for a new two or three-seat multi-role fighter, capable of functioning as a bomber escort and night fighter, as well as providing fighter direction (leading formations of single-engine fighters to their targets). The specification also required, at minimum, two forward-facing 20 mm cannons, as well as
7784-408: The German night bombing raids of Moscow in 1941, the People's Commissariat of Defense of the Soviet Union (NKO) sought to rapidly correct this deficiency. In order to create a fighter that would fill the needed specifications quickly, it was determined that it would utilize a pre-existing airframe. The NKO selected the Petlyakov Pe-2 – a twin-engined light bomber – to be modified, and within 4 days
7923-426: The Germans, and the last large operational unit of the Polish Army surrendered on 6 October . Despite the military defeat, Poland never surrendered; instead, it formed the Polish government-in-exile and a clandestine state apparatus remained in occupied Poland. A significant part of Polish military personnel evacuated to Romania and Latvia; many of them later fought against the Axis in other theatres of
8062-412: The Grushin Gr-1, Mikoyan-Gurevich DIS , Polikarpov TIS , and the Tairov Ta-3 ; were proposed, but never moved beyond test stages. Like other military types, piston-engine heavy fighters such as the de Havilland Hornet and Sea Hornet , as well as the North American F-82 Twin Mustang continued in service in the years immediately after the war. All were developed at the end of World War II for use in
8201-450: The Nationalists. Both Germany and the Soviet Union used this proxy war as an opportunity to test in combat their most advanced weapons and tactics. The Nationalists won the civil war in April 1939; Franco, now dictator, remained officially neutral during World War II but generally favoured the Axis . His greatest collaboration with Germany was the sending of volunteers to fight on the Eastern Front . In July 1937, Japan captured
8340-434: The Pacific theatre, though none reached operational squadrons until after VJ day, the Hornet in 1946, the Sea Hornet in 1947 and the Twin Mustang in 1948. 4th-generation and 5th-generation air superiority fighters are designed to wrest air superiority from the enemy in hostile territory, and thus usually have greater range than tactical fighters or interceptors. They therefore typically have two engines, and often carry
8479-471: The Petlyakov Design Bureau switched production over to a Pe-3bis with further minor modifications; no name or designation change was made. A reconnaissance variant, with an onboard camera system and greater range was also produced in small numbers; This variant was often referred to as either the Pe-3R or Pe-3F. The Pe-3 and Pe-3bis would serve as the only widely fielded heavy fighter of the Soviet Air Forces during WWII . Other heavy fighter designs; such as
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#17328633227028618-458: The Potez 631 was the Flottille F1C of the French Naval Air Arm . Between 10 and 21 May 1940, aircraft of the flottille shot down 12 enemy aircraft in exchange for 8 of their own losses prior to its withdrawal from active combat. The reconnaissance variants, the Potez 637 and 63.11, equipped numerous Groupes de Reconnaissance of the French Air Force, with more than 700 reconnaissance Potez 63.11s having been delivered. The Potez 63.11 suffered
8757-452: The Royal Navy putting three Italian battleships out of commission after a carrier attack at Taranto , and neutralising several more warships at the Battle of Cape Matapan . Italian defeats prompted Germany to deploy an expeditionary force to North Africa; at the end of March 1941, Rommel 's Afrika Korps launched an offensive which drove back Commonwealth forces. In less than a month, Axis forces advanced to western Egypt and besieged
8896-423: The Soviet Union occupied the entire territories of Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, as well as the Romanian regions of Bessarabia, Northern Bukovina, and the Hertsa region . In August 1940, Hitler imposed the Second Vienna Award on Romania which led to the transfer of Northern Transylvania to Hungary. In September 1940, Bulgaria demanded Southern Dobruja from Romania with German and Italian support, leading to
9035-421: The Soviet Union , opening the Eastern Front and initially making large territorial gains. Japan aimed to dominate East Asia and the Asia-Pacific , and by 1937 was at war with the Republic of China . In December 1941, Japan attacked American and British territories in Southeast Asia and the Central Pacific , including Pearl Harbor in Hawaii , which resulted in the US and the UK declaring war against Japan, and
9174-418: The Soviet Union and Mongolia . The Japanese doctrine of Hokushin-ron , which emphasised Japan's expansion northward, was favoured by the Imperial Army during this time. This policy would prove difficult to maintain in light of the Japanese defeat at Khalkin Gol in 1939, the ongoing Second Sino-Japanese War and ally Nazi Germany pursuing neutrality with the Soviets. Japan and the Soviet Union eventually signed
9313-575: The Soviet Union should be eliminated and aimed for the conquest of Ukraine , the Baltic states and Byelorussia . However, other senior German officials like Ribbentrop saw an opportunity to create a Euro-Asian bloc against the British Empire by inviting the Soviet Union into the Tripartite Pact. In November 1940, negotiations took place to determine if the Soviet Union would join the pact. The Soviets showed some interest but asked for concessions from Finland, Bulgaria, Turkey, and Japan that Germany considered unacceptable. On 18 December 1940, Hitler issued
9452-442: The Twin Mustang. Apart from the P-38 and P-61, other mid-WWII projects included the proposed Curtis XP-71 . It was an exceptionally large heavy fighter, intended to serve as a long-range escort fighter and bomber destroyer. Its design was based around a 75 mm cannon capable of destroying large heavy bombers with one hit, but interest in the project waned and the 83 ft (25 m)- wingspan aircraft did not progress beyond
9591-402: The US dropped the first atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on 6 and 9 August. Faced with an imminent invasion of the Japanese archipelago , the possibility of further atomic bombings, and the Soviet declaration of war against Japan and its invasion of Manchuria , Japan announced its unconditional surrender on 15 August and signed a surrender document on 2 September 1945 , marking
9730-408: The USAAF to compete for the contract ; the Curtiss-Wright XP-87 Blackhawk and the Northrop XP-89 Scorpion . While the XP-89 would eventually emerge as the winner, due to multiple issues with both competing aircraft, the first Scorpions would not reach operational Air Defense Command interceptor units until 1951. With no other night interceptors to call on from 1945 to 1951, the P-61 Black Widow
9869-424: The United Kingdom and France guaranteed their support for Polish independence ; when Italy conquered Albania in April 1939, the same guarantee was extended to the Kingdoms of Romania and Greece . Shortly after the Franco - British pledge to Poland, Germany and Italy formalised their own alliance with the Pact of Steel . Hitler accused the United Kingdom and Poland of trying to "encircle" Germany and renounced
10008-538: The United Kingdom attacked on 3 July in an attempt to prevent its seizure by Germany. The air Battle of Britain began in early July with Luftwaffe attacks on shipping and harbours . The German campaign for air superiority started in August but its failure to defeat RAF Fighter Command forced the indefinite postponement of the proposed German invasion of Britain . The German strategic bombing offensive intensified with night attacks on London and other cities in
10147-455: The United Kingdom. The Germans turned south against the weakened French army, and Paris fell to them on 14 June. Eight days later France signed an armistice with Germany ; it was divided into German and Italian occupation zones , and an unoccupied rump state under the Vichy Regime , which, though officially neutral, was generally aligned with Germany. France kept its fleet, which
10286-640: The United States was assisting China and the Western Allies, and had amended the Neutrality Act to allow "cash and carry" purchases by the Allies. In 1940, following the German capture of Paris, the size of the United States Navy was significantly increased . In September the United States further agreed to a trade of American destroyers for British bases . Still, a large majority of the American public continued to oppose any direct military intervention in
10425-467: The United States. The Twin Mustang, while appearing to be simply a ‘ twinned ’ P-51 Mustang, actually only shared less than 20% commonality of parts with the original Mustang. Initially intended as a long-range escort fighter for Boeing B-29 Superfortress strategic bombers attacking the Japanese home islands , it would become operational only after the Japanese surrender . Originally designed in 1943, it
10564-590: The Yellow River ; this manoeuvre bought time for the Chinese to prepare their defences at Wuhan , but the city was taken by October. Japanese military victories did not bring about the collapse of Chinese resistance that Japan had hoped to achieve; instead, the Chinese government relocated inland to Chongqing and continued the war. In the mid-to-late 1930s, Japanese forces in Manchukuo had sporadic border clashes with
10703-422: The aircraft's forward-facing armament at night temporarily blinded the pilots, crews complained about a lack of frontal armor, and heavier armament in general was requested. Ground crews would rectify two of these issues on their own; flash-hiders were installed on the forward armament, and RS-82 and RS-132 rocket launchers were sometimes mounted for ground-attack missions, while a DAG-10 aerial grenade launcher
10842-460: The attack. This was the type's only operational mission over France as two days later the 633 was withdrawn from front-line service. The day/night fighter variant, the Potez 631, had quickly proved to be an ineffectual interceptor; it was slower than some German bomber aircraft and 130 km/h (81 mph) slower than the Messerschmitt Bf 109 E-variant fighter. Perhaps the most successful unit operating
10981-456: The biplane era; the latter because of loss of accuracy expected with heavy weapons installed in wings. One example of an aircraft to meet the latter was the Gloster F.9/37 ; later development into a night-fighter was curtailed in 1941 so that Gloster's design team could concentrate on British jet fighter projects . The limitations of pure turret fighters (though the single engine Boulton Paul Defiant
11120-507: The capital Nanking in December 1937. After the fall of Nanking, tens or hundreds of thousands of Chinese civilians and disarmed combatants were murdered by the Japanese . In March 1938, Nationalist Chinese forces won their first major victory at Taierzhuang , but then the city of Xuzhou was taken by the Japanese in May. In June 1938, Chinese forces stalled the Japanese advance by flooding
11259-639: The chosen powerplant for B-29 bombers it did not enter service. Post-war, the Grumman F7F Tigercat was the first twin-engine fighter aircraft to enter service with the United States Navy, using two Pratt & Whitney Double Wasp radial engines, achieving a top speed of 460 mph (740 km/h). It was among the fastest piston-engine aircraft ever built, and heavily armed with four 20mm M2 cannon and four 0.50 in (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 heavy machine guns, with hard points for bombs or
11398-403: The conflict well into 1941. In December 1940, Roosevelt accused Hitler of planning world conquest and ruled out any negotiations as useless, calling for the United States to become an " arsenal of democracy " and promoting Lend-Lease programmes of military and humanitarian aid to support the British war effort; Lend-Lease was later extended to the other Allies, including the Soviet Union after it
11537-515: The creation of a " New Roman Empire ". Adolf Hitler , after an unsuccessful attempt to overthrow the German government in 1923, eventually became the Chancellor of Germany in 1933 when Paul von Hindenburg and the Reichstag appointed him. Following Hindenburg's death in 1934, Hitler proclaimed himself Führer of Germany and abolished democracy, espousing a radical, racially motivated revision of
11676-645: The decision was made by the Air Force to re-designate the Bréguet 690 as the Bréguet 691, and to utilize it as a ground-attack aircraft. The 691's engines proved unreliable in testing, and the decision was made to mount new engines on the design, which was finally designated as the Bréguet 693. Few 693s were completed before the Nazi German invasion , however, enough were completed to see some action. The 693 made its combat debut on 12 May 1940 when twelve 693s were sent to attack
11815-662: The directive to prepare for an invasion of the Soviet Union. Nationaal Militair Museum The Nationaal Militair Museum (NMM) is a military museum in Soesterberg , Netherlands . It focuses on the history of the Dutch Armed Forces with emphasis on the Royal Netherlands Army and the Royal Netherlands Air Force . The Stichting Koninklijke Defensiemusea (Royal Defense Museums Foundation) oversees
11954-739: The dissolution of the Austro-Hungarian, Ottoman, and Russian Empires. To prevent a future world war, the League of Nations was established in 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference . The organisation's primary goals were to prevent armed conflict through collective security, military, and naval disarmament , as well as settling international disputes through peaceful negotiations and arbitration. Despite strong pacifist sentiment after World War I , irredentist and revanchist nationalism had emerged in several European states. These sentiments were especially marked in Germany because of
12093-691: The effort as impractical in the late 1930s. Twin-engine designs such as the Tupolev ANT-29 or Petlyakov VI-100 were proposed, but never made it past the prototype stage, and the USSR entered World War II without a viable heavy fighter. With the German invasion of the Soviet Union in 1941, the Soviet Air Forces were caught off-guard; with only lighter, single-engined, relatively lightly armed fighters to intercept Luftwaffe bombers, and no dedicated night fighters (a role typically filled by heavy fighters). After
12232-637: The end of May completed the German conquest of the Balkans. Partisan warfare subsequently broke out against the Axis occupation of Yugoslavia , which continued until the end of the war. In the Middle East in May, Commonwealth forces quashed an uprising in Iraq which had been supported by German aircraft from bases within Vichy-controlled Syria . Between June and July, British-led forces invaded and occupied
12371-508: The end of the war. World War II changed the political alignment and social structure of the world, and it set the foundation of international relations for the rest of the 20th century and into the 21st century. The United Nations was established to foster international cooperation and prevent conflicts, with the victorious great powers—China, France, the Soviet Union, the UK, and the US—becoming
12510-546: The enemy; with the ever-increasing threat of Allied escort fighters, the variant was abandoned. Towards the end of the war, the Dornier Do 335 Pfeil was developed as a twin-engine dedicated zerstörer (eschewing the usual German wartime practice of assigning multiple roles to heavy fighters), designed with a relatively unique push-pull configuration , which placed its fuselage-mounted twin DB 603 engines' propellers on opposing ends of
12649-519: The example set by the Bf 110, the Japanese built the broadly similar Kawasaki Ki-45 Toryu . Likewise neutral Netherlands built the twin-boom Fokker G.I, only to be seized by the Luftwaffe after the German invasion of the Netherlands. Before the war the British sought both twin-engined fighters with turret-mounted and nose-mounted (cannon) armament. The former because it was expected to give greater opportunity for attack at higher speeds compared to
12788-566: The first step of what its government saw as the country's right to rule Asia , staged the Mukden incident as a pretext to invade Manchuria and establish the puppet state of Manchukuo . China appealed to the League of Nations to stop the Japanese invasion of Manchuria. Japan withdrew from the League of Nations after being condemned for its incursion into Manchuria. The two nations then fought several battles, in Shanghai , Rehe and Hebei , until
12927-568: The flight, and none were used by the Vichy Air Force in North Africa. In November 1942 with the German occupation of Vichy France , the remaining Bréguets were seized. Some had their engines removed for use in German aircraft, while others were passed on to the Italians, who used them as training aircraft. The Messerschmitt Bf 110 was a pre-war German fighter design to meet a RLM specification for
13066-843: The former Chinese imperial capital of Peking after instigating the Marco Polo Bridge incident , which culminated in the Japanese campaign to invade all of China. The Soviets quickly signed a non-aggression pact with China to lend materiel support, effectively ending China's prior cooperation with Germany . From September to November, the Japanese attacked Taiyuan , engaged the Kuomintang Army around Xinkou , and fought Communist forces in Pingxingguan . Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek deployed his best army to defend Shanghai , but after three months of fighting, Shanghai fell. The Japanese continued to push Chinese forces back, capturing
13205-504: The fuselage and a rearward-facing machine gun for defense. Numerous variants and sub-variants of the 63 series would be designed and produced, including day fighter , night fighter, reconnaissance , and light bomber variants. While the 63 series was primarily developed for the French Air Force and French Naval Air Arm , they would serve with numerous other nations, both Axis and Allied powers , via either pre- armistice sales by
13344-479: The fuselage, and potentially allowed much better maneuverability, while essentially using the same engines as the conventional-layout twin-engine Me 410. The centre-line thrust design of the Do 335, the first-ever front-line combat fighter to use it, did allow dramatically higher speeds (just over 750 km/h or 465 mph) than many other twin-piston-engine aircraft of its era, but was never produced in quantity. Following
13483-512: The invasion of the Ethiopian Empire (also known as Abyssinia ) by the armed forces of the Kingdom of Italy ( Regno d'Italia ), which was launched from Italian Somaliland and Eritrea . The war resulted in the military occupation of Ethiopia and its annexation into the newly created colony of Italian East Africa ( Africa Orientale Italiana , or AOI); in addition it exposed the weakness of
13622-576: The large-scale use of jet aircraft becoming commonplace, the United States Army Air Forces put forward technical specifications to the US aerospace industry, requesting both day and night interceptors . While the night interceptor technical specification did not specifically require jet power, it did place a minimum speed requirement of 503 mph (810 km/h) on the project, effectively necessitating jet power. By 1946, two aircraft were chosen by
13761-581: The last piston-powered photo-reconnaissance aircraft designed and produced for the United States Air Force. The Reporter was also responsible for producing most of the aerial reconnaissance photographs of North Korea during the Korean War . The P-61 — redesignated as the F-61 in June 1948 — would also serve as a night/all-weather interceptor with the USAF's Air Defense Command (ADC) until 1951. In 1945, with
13900-556: The later marks of the Bf 110G series from 1942 to 1943 onwards as night fighters, serving as the primary aircraft of the Luftwaffe Nachtjagdgeschwader night fighter wings, using various versions of the Lichtenstein radar for nocturnal interception of RAF Bomber Command heavy bombers, as well as finding some use as ground-attack aircraft. The Me 210 and Me 410 Hornisse were all-new aircraft designs meant to replace
14039-514: The latter due to changed requirement), the Royal Air Force 's wartime twin-engined fighters were all adapted from contemporary bombers . During the Battle of Britain, Bristol Blenheim bombers were fitted, as an interim measure and in utmost secrecy, with radars and ventral gun packs, turning them into the RAF's first night fighters. More successful was the Bristol Beaufighter , started in 1938 as an interim aircraft to cover for delays in introduction of
14178-726: The latter enabling the strategic bombing of population centres and delivery of the only two nuclear weapons ever used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, resulting in 70 to 85 million deaths , more than half being civilians. Millions died in genocides , including the Holocaust of European Jews, as well as from massacres, starvation, and disease. Following the Allied powers' victory, Germany , Austria , Japan , and Korea were occupied, and war crimes tribunals were conducted against German and Japanese leaders . The causes of World War II included unresolved tensions in
14317-399: The more losses than any other French type. One factor contributing to the high losses was the near-complete lack of spares, rendering 70 63.11s unserviceable even prior to the German invasion; many aircraft were destroyed on the ground by enemy bombing and strafing attacks, and entire units were wiped out without conducting a single mission. In addition to the Potez 63 series, another aircraft
14456-669: The museum. Its collection derives from the Legermuseum in Delft and the Militaire Luchtvaart Museum in Soesterberg, which were merged to form the NMM in 2014. The museum occupies the site of the former Soesterberg Air Base . 52°07′54″N 5°16′34″E / 52.1316°N 5.2760°E / 52.1316; 5.2760 This article about a museum in the Netherlands is
14595-629: The newly minted Petlyakov Pe-3 took flight. Numerous issues were identified with the Pe-3, primarily stemming from the added gun and cannon armament. Various improvements, workarounds, and modifications were tested to address these issues. The aircraft was placed under further scrutiny when it was issued on a trial-basis to the 95th High-Speed Bomber Regiment within the Moscow Military District in late 1941. The Regiment's experiences revealed further deficiencies not found during initial testing; Firing
14734-497: The permanent members of its security council . The Soviet Union and the United States emerged as rival superpowers , setting the stage for the Cold War . In the wake of European devastation, the influence of its great powers waned, triggering the decolonisation of Africa and Asia . Most countries whose industries had been damaged moved towards economic recovery and expansion . World War II began in Europe on 1 September 1939 with
14873-571: The political European map with the defeat of the Central Powers —including Austria-Hungary , Germany , Bulgaria , and the Ottoman Empire —and the 1917 Bolshevik seizure of power in Russia , which led to the founding of the Soviet Union. Meanwhile, the victorious Allies of World War I , such as France, Belgium, Italy, Romania, and Greece, gained territory, and new nation-states were created out of
15012-583: The port of Tobruk . By late March 1941, Bulgaria and Yugoslavia signed the Tripartite Pact ; however, the Yugoslav government was overthrown two days later by pro-British nationalists. Germany and Italy responded with simultaneous invasions of both Yugoslavia and Greece , commencing on 6 April 1941; both nations were forced to surrender within the month. The airborne invasion of the Greek island of Crete at
15151-693: The remainder of Czechoslovakia and subsequently split it into the German Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia and a pro-German client state , the Slovak Republic . Hitler also delivered an ultimatum to Lithuania on 20 March 1939, forcing the concession of the Klaipėda Region , formerly the German Memelland . Greatly alarmed and with Hitler making further demands on the Free City of Danzig ,
15290-533: The same requirement. An advanced design crewed by a lone pilot, the P-38 performed best in the Pacific theater where its long-range proved a pivotal advantage. This range allowed a team of sixteen early P-38 models to intercept and kill Japanese Admiral Isoroku Yamamoto while he was traveling aboard a transport aircraft. The P-38 proved adaptable enough to undertake multiple roles including escort fighter, reconnaissance (as
15429-447: The same round with minimal change in weight or size) compared to the AN/M2's 750-850 rounds per minute, a roughly 60% increase in rounds per minute. The first XP-82 prototype was equipped with a removable centerline gun pod housing eight additional .50 caliber M3 Brownings, but this did not feature on production aircraft. A separate centerline gun pod containing a 40 mm (1.6 in) cannon
15568-416: The second crew-member. Prior to the Nazi German invasion of the Netherlands , the G.I was actively involved in air-border patrols in order to ensure neutrality and the integrity of Dutch airspace. On 20 March 1940, a G.I forced down an Armstrong Whitworth Whitley from No. 77 Squadron RAF when it strayed into Dutch air space. On 10 May 1940, when Nazi Germany invaded, 23 G.I aircraft were serviceable. In
15707-410: The significant territorial, colonial, and financial losses imposed by the Treaty of Versailles . Under the treaty, Germany lost around 13 percent of its home territory and all its overseas possessions , while German annexation of other states was prohibited, reparations were imposed, and limits were placed on the size and capability of the country's armed forces . The German Empire was dissolved in
15846-458: The six cannon armed Vickers Type 432 , which itself descended from a requirement for a fighter with 40mm cannon, got no further than the prototype. Due to the different requirements for naval fighter aircraft, the British put into service some heavyweight single-engine fighters such as the Fairey Firefly . The US military never officially designated an aircraft as a "heavy fighter," but from
15985-494: The start or prelude to World War II. The exact date of the war's end also is not universally agreed upon. It was generally accepted at the time that the war ended with the armistice of 15 August 1945 ( V-J Day ), rather than with the formal surrender of Japan on 2 September 1945, which officially ended the war in Asia . A peace treaty between Japan and the Allies was signed in 1951. A 1990 treaty regarding Germany's future allowed
16124-638: The strategic bomber force, the 27th FEW was to fly these missions in F-82Es. During the start of the Korean War , the F-82 replaced the F-61 Black Widow as the USAF's night interceptor in the Far East Air Forces . The Twin Mustang was utilized in the night fighter-interceptor and fighter-bomber role early in the war, and it scored the first US aerial victory, with Lt. William G. "Skeeter" Hudson, USAF, scoring
16263-521: The strong Maginot Line fortifications on the Franco-German border, Germany directed its attack at the neutral nations of Belgium , the Netherlands , and Luxembourg . The Germans carried out a flanking manoeuvre through the Ardennes region, which was mistakenly perceived by the Allies as an impenetrable natural barrier against armoured vehicles. By successfully implementing new Blitzkrieg tactics,
16402-698: The successful de Havilland Mosquito fast bomber was simultaneously adapted for both day and night fighter use. A parallel single-seat twin Merlin engine fighter the de Havilland Hornet entered service in the immediate post-war period and served until 1955. When there appeared to be a threat from German high-altitude bombers, the Westland Welkin was developed. This was a twin engine design with wide wings (70 ft (21 m)) to be able to intercept at 45,000 ft (14,000 m). The threat never materialised and Welkins did not see combat service. A contemporary design
16541-569: The two wars became World War II in 1941. Other proposed starting dates for World War II include the Italian invasion of Abyssinia on 3 October 1935. The British historian Antony Beevor views the beginning of World War II as the Battles of Khalkhin Gol fought between Japan and the forces of Mongolia and the Soviet Union from May to September 1939. Others view the Spanish Civil War as
16680-504: The war were not fulfilled in the peace settlement. From 1922 to 1925, the Fascist movement led by Benito Mussolini seized power in Italy with a nationalist, totalitarian , and class collaborationist agenda that abolished representative democracy, repressed socialist, left-wing, and liberal forces, and pursued an aggressive expansionist foreign policy aimed at making Italy a world power, promising
16819-475: The war. Germany annexed western Poland and occupied central Poland ; the Soviet Union annexed eastern Poland ; small shares of Polish territory were transferred to Lithuania and Slovakia . On 6 October, Hitler made a public peace overture to the United Kingdom and France but said that the future of Poland was to be determined exclusively by Germany and the Soviet Union. The proposal was rejected and Hitler ordered an immediate offensive against France, which
16958-503: The west halted the German advance for several days, but it was outflanked and encircled by the Wehrmacht . Remnants of the Polish army broke through to besieged Warsaw . On 17 September 1939, two days after signing a cease-fire with Japan , the Soviet Union invaded Poland under the supposed pretext that the Polish state had ceased to exist. On 27 September, the Warsaw garrison surrendered to
17097-687: The world order , and soon began a massive rearmament campaign . France, seeking to secure its alliance with Italy, allowed Italy a free hand in Ethiopia , which Italy desired as a colonial possession. The situation was aggravated in early 1935 when the Territory of the Saar Basin was legally reunited with Germany, and Hitler repudiated the Treaty of Versailles, accelerated his rearmament programme, and introduced conscription. The United Kingdom, France and Italy formed
17236-554: Was invaded by Germany. The United States started strategic planning to prepare for a full-scale offensive against Germany. At the end of September 1940, the Tripartite Pact formally united Japan, Italy, and Germany as the Axis powers . The Tripartite Pact stipulated that any country—with the exception of the Soviet Union—that attacked any Axis Power would be forced to go to war against all three. The Axis expanded in November 1940 when Hungary , Slovakia , and Romania joined. Romania and Hungary later made major contributions to
17375-561: Was ample room to install airborne intercept radar systems as well as heavy armament. Bombers utilized in such a role included the Junkers Ju 88 and Ju 388 ; the Heinkel He 219 ; and the Dornier Do 215 and Do 217 . In addition to light and medium bombers, the Luftwaffe experimented with the concept of a Grosszerstörer ("large destroyer"). Different armament packages were tested on the Heinkel He 177 Greif heavy bomber . Twelve airframes, designated " He 177 A-1/U2", carried twin 30 mm MK 101 cannon in an enlarged ventral gondola and
17514-441: Was charged with protecting American airspace from the growing threat of Soviet strategic bombers . The P-61 would be re-designated as the F-61 in 1948. With F-61s no longer in production post-war, they were usually replaced with the newer F-82 Twin Mustang once they became unserviceable. The F-82 Twin Mustang was America's last heavy fighter design as well as being the last American piston-engined fighter ordered into production by
17653-476: Was considered, but was never built. The outer wings were reinforced to allow the addition of hard points for carrying additional fuel or 1,000 lb (450 kg) of ordnance. The F-82E was the first operational model and its initial operational assignment was to the Strategic Air Command 27th Fighter Wing (later re-designated the 27th Fighter-Escort Wing, or 27th FEW) at Kearney Air Force Base , Nebraska in March 1948. With no long-range jet fighters to escort
17792-412: Was developed from the original 1934 heavy fighter specification. This was the Bréguet 690 , designed and manufactured originally by Bréguet Aviation . While the Bréguet 690 was not selected to serve as France's primary heavy fighter, the French Air Force's command staff was still intrigued by the sturdy and versatile design. By 1938, with France falling behind in ground-attack/close-air support aircraft,
17931-437: Was intended for ground attack, train busting, and possibly long-range anti-shipping raids. They also were intended for use in a bomber destroyer role, intercepting Allied long-range bombers and maritime patrol aircraft threatening the Kriegsmarine ' s submarines. In the field, a small number of He 177 A-3s were also equipped with the 50 mm Rheinmetall BK-5 cannon in the undernose gondola. This unofficial modification
18070-516: Was intended for use in flak -suppression attacks. A never-built A-3/R5 variant was also planned to mount a 75 mm Bordkanone BK 7,5 cm cannon. Five A-5 variants were built, armed with up to 33 spin-stabilized 21 cm (8¼ in) calibre rockets obliquely mounted (firing upwards) in the fuselage, designed to break up and destroy the combat box defensive formations used by USAAF daylight bombers over Germany. Limited operational test flights were conducted with this variant, but they never made contact with
18209-410: Was occasionally mounted in the tail. Most of the problems found during trials and operational field-testing would be rectified by the Petlyakov Design Bureau with the introduction of the Pe-3bis (Pe-3 'Improved'). Pe-3bis production began in April 1942, although 207 standard Pe-3s were produced in the intervening months. However, additional issues were again discovered with the Pe-3bis, and in May 1942
18348-409: Was officially accepted into USAAF service in August 1945. The design carried six .50 in (12.7 mm) heavy machine guns (HMGs) on the ‘center’ wing, between each fuselage, with three on each outboard wing as on the original Mustang design. The HMGs were also AN/M3s instead of the original Mustang's AN/M2 HMGs. The AN/M3 increased the rate of fire to around 1,200-1,300 rounds per minute (firing
18487-401: Was one of the most heavily armed aircraft in American service during the WWII-period. The P-61 was unofficially credited with the last Allied air victory before VJ Day . The P-61 was also modified to create the unarmed F-15 Reporter , a specialized photo-reconnaissance aircraft for the United States Army Air Forces and subsequently used by the United States Air Force . The F-15 Reporter was
18626-403: Was postponed until the spring of 1940 due to bad weather. After the outbreak of war in Poland, Stalin threatened Estonia , Latvia , and Lithuania with military invasion, forcing the three Baltic countries to sign pacts allowing the creation of Soviet military bases in these countries; in October 1939, significant Soviet military contingents were moved there. Finland refused to sign
18765-657: Was repulsed with heavy Italian casualties; the campaign ended within months with minor territorial changes. To assist Italy and prevent Britain from gaining a foothold, Germany prepared to invade the Balkans, which would threaten Romanian oil fields and strike against British dominance of the Mediterranean. In December 1940, British Empire forces began counter-offensives against Italian forces in Egypt and Italian East Africa . The offensives were successful; by early February 1941, Italy had lost control of eastern Libya, and large numbers of Italian troops had been taken prisoner. The Italian Navy also suffered significant defeats, with
18904-441: Was required to go through the bureaucracy of the League of Nations, which rendered it essentially toothless. The United States, concerned with events in Europe and Asia, passed the Neutrality Act in August of the same year. Hitler defied the Versailles and Locarno Treaties by remilitarising the Rhineland in March 1936, encountering little opposition due to the policy of appeasement . In October 1936, Germany and Italy formed
19043-441: Was successfully adapted as a nightfighter) and aerodynamics of multiple cannon installations in turrets (such as Boulton Paul P.92 ) curtailed introduction of designs into service. Perhaps in the belief that " The bomber will always get through ", Britain lagged behind in heavy fighter development. Apart from the Westland Whirlwind and the high-altitude Welkin , both built only in modest numbers (the former due to lack of engines,
19182-460: Was the Northrop P-61 Black Widow , which was also the United States’ first dedicated night fighter, in addition to being the first aircraft designed to utilize radar . Armed with four forward-firing 20 mm (.79 in) AN/M2 cannons mounted in the lower fuselage and four .50 caliber (12.7 mm) Browning AN/M2 machine guns mounted in a remote-controlled dorsal gun turret (capable of firing forwards as well as rearwards for defense), it
19321-422: Was the American Lockheed P-38 Lightning , which proved an effective heavy fighter; even against smaller, lighter, single-engine aircraft and particularly in the Pacific theater . Many twin-engine heavy fighters found their niche as night fighters , especially in the bomber-destroyer role; or as fighter-bombers , roughly analogous to modern strike fighters . Among such conversions was the Bf 110, which served as
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